Environment & Bray Head

The Minister for Environment and Local Government, John Gormley (Green Party) has instructed Local Councils to give the entire saving on the staff pension levy back to his Department even though the Council funds and pays its staff pensions. This is robbery as staff wages are partly paid from Business Rates and Water Charges as well as the Government Grant. The savings from the wages sacrifice of the staff and Councillors should go to reduce Rates on hard-pressed businesses. This emerged at Mondays meeting of Wicklow County Council when I…

The Three Trout Stream had been dredged and debris cleared upstream of Charlesland Court and Wood. The debris has washed down to Charlesland and caused blockages. Also the debris removed has been left on the stream banks. The Council must immediately clear the stream at Charlesland to prevent flooding. A substantial development contribution was made by the Charlesland developers to fund work on the stream but council officials have for years refused to answer my questions about what they spent it on. This money must be spent now to prevent…

Last August, following very heavy rain, Greystones had more flooding than anywhere else in Wicklow. There was considerable flooding at some houses in Redford Park. In most cases this was due to large amounts of water coming down Lr. Templecarrick Road as the drains were small or blocked. At Redford a wall fell down under pressure of water build up and this sudden flood caused problems. Since then the Council has worked to try to ensure that the water gets into and stays in the stream. Culverts have been cleared,…

5 years ago I got the strongest restrictions on house building in Wicklow to apply between the main road and the sea on Bray Head. As a result only farmers who need to look after their land are allowed build there. In the previous 20 years there had been 26 planning applications to build houses on Cliff Road, Windgates. Minister of State, Dick Roche T.D. (Fianna Fail) has written at least 20 letters to planning officials urging them to allow houses on the Greystones side of Bray Head.